The Avengers Workout

The Avengers Workout

The hero has evolved over the years, both literally in stature and in its meaning. What was once a common man who faced insurmountable odds, often for the well-being of another, or others, has evolved into the superhero.

With the exception of Batman, the superhero is anything but common. He possesses superhuman power, strength, and an odd assortment of other abilities that set him apart from the rest of us ‘mortals’.

Clever writing is used to humanize the inhuman, replacing the conflict within the hero. The facing of fears that William Wallace, or David once faced.

A hero was one of us. Yet not one of us at the same time. A man with the courage to die for what he believed. Or simply for the safety of someone he loved, or even someone he barely knew.

Nevertheless, a superhero is still pretty damn exciting to watch in action. No movie (aside from The Dark Knight Rises – and yes, expect a Dark Knight Rises workout) has been this anticipated in a very long time.

Finally, men – both young and old – can head to a movie theatre and watch a brute like the Hulk, bash and batter his enemies to death and destruction. Finally we can see how these heroes stack up against each other, and alongside one other. Fats at night boost testosterone levels. As do cold showers in the evening and morning. As does a movie packed with massive heroes destroying things. Saving lives. Protecting us.

And so, I bring you the Avengers Workout. Each of the main 4 Avengers have their strengths. The Hulk’s brutish power. Thor’s hammering skills and strength. Captain America’s agility, speed, and durability. We’ll cover each of them with their own unique day. Focusing on a unique skill.

Thor Day

The norse god of thunder. His weapon, Mjölnir, one of the most powerful weapons in his realm – or in any realm. It can only be wielded by one master. And that master is Thor.

If you’ve ever done sledge-hammer slams, or medball slams (similar movement), you’ll know that wielding a hammer with any significant amount of weight requires a lot of power from the lats. Thus, the ‘Thor day’ will focus on upper body pulling, but from a very different angle than you might be used to.

C2. Sternum chin-ups – 8+ (failure with a 3 second count on the way down + a 2 second pause at the top)

C3. Ab roll-outs 10 reps

3 sets ; 60 seconds rest after each set

the Hulk Day

Focus: power/explosiveness.

The Hulk is pure power. The guy’s vertical leap is immeasurable. His strength, the same. Now, we’re not likely to turn green when we get mad (although our faces sometimes turn red), so we need to train for the explosive power that the Hulk has.

Everything done today is about explosiveness. We’re lifting heavy, for lower reps, and we’re going to be taking longer rest periods. With each exercise, make sure you’re exploding – especially in those first few inches of the lift. On the box jumps, start by standing on a box or bench 12+ inches high. Drop down to the ground, immediately bounding back up to the bench.

Try and spend as little time on the ground as possible. As soon as you land, bound back up.

A. Snatch – Reps: 6, 4, 4, 6 ; Rest: 120 seconds.

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B1. Deadlift – Reps: 6, 4, 4, 6 ; Rest: 120 seconds.

B2. Box jump – Reps: 3×8 reps.

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C1. Push Press

C2. Power Upright Row

C3. Squat jump

Reps: 3×6-8 reps ; Rest: 60 seconds

Captain America Day

Focus: upper body pushes/stamina/agility.

Being Captain America would be pretty damn cool. It wouldn’t be too bad to be able to bench press 1200 pounds (545 kg) and run a mile (1.6 km) in 73 seconds (49 mph/78 kph). He also can’t become intoxicated by alcohol, drugs, or impurities in the air. To put it simply, he’s a super-human in every sense of the word.

Today’s workout is a well-rounded upper body pushes workout. We’re going to build power, strength, but also toss in some HIIT to improve stamina without the long – exhaustive, cortisol-producing distance runs that dominate conventional ‘stamina-focused workouts’.

About Chad Howse

chadhowse Chad's mission is to get you in the arena, ‘marred by the dust and sweat and blood’, to help you set and achieve audacious goals in the face of fear, and not only build your ideal body, but the life you were meant to live. He’s a former 9-5er turned entrepreneur, a former scrawny amateur boxer turned muscular published fitness author. He’ll give you the kick in the ass needed to help you live a big, ambitious life.

MARK

Chad,

Much appreciated, Your workouts are definately something I check for on a daily basis.

Love the blog as always.

Keep em coming

-Strength & Honor

http://www.chadhowsefitness.com/ Chad Howse

Good to hear man – no problem.

Glenn

The workout looks sound & would be a nice break from my usual bodybuilding routine, Will Give it a go soon, Thanks for providing!

As for the Avengers movie (It's been titled Avengers Assemble here in the U.K. as they didn’t think us mere mortals would know who the Avengers were,…How insulting!) I went to watch it last weekend and AWESOME would have been the understatement of the year…! People in the cinema were clapping & cheering at the end! This doesn’t happen often as us English are a reserved bunch most days of the week (except for Friday Nights out on the town after to much beer it seems) As soon as I got home I felt the need to see it again, & go over all the subtle comic references I might have missed with all the action going on! This will be a Blu-Ray keeper for sure. Will most likely go and see it in its 3D version next week. Superb Superhero Stuff!

http://www.chadhowsefitness.com/ Chad Howse

I'm sooo pumped to hear it was good! That's hilarious about the title, didn't know that. There's always the risk that these big blockbuster's will be a letdown. Good to hear though.

I can't wait for the Drank Knight Rises too. The hype is epic.

Glenn

Dark Knight looks promising! Has been a long time coming though, I read that the studio have put it back several months so as not to compete with Avengers! Batman is a mean dude but if Bane lives up to the comics then he’s in for some serious trouble! Have always have been more of a Marvel comic guy than D.C.!

Thanks again for the work out, going to need a different costume for each day of the week though! ;-D

http://www.chadhowsefitness.com/ Chad Howse

haha well said!

Mick

Thanks Chad , Still working the Thor workouts at present will try avengers in 4weeks, Big things are starting

http://www.chadhowsefitness.com/ Chad Howse

Nice! Keep me posted on how things go.

Malik Abbas

Thank you so much Mr.Chad…I really enjoyed a lot doing this workout…I like your coaching method so much and want more of it…and yeah Iron Man has always been my favorite…

This workout looks really cool! I like the Avenger theme, good for motivation. I just have a few questions: 1. Are the Ab Roll-Outs done with an ab wheel or with a barbell(Thor)? 2. Should weight be used with the Squat Jumps or the Bulgarian Split Squat Jumps(Hulk & Iron Man)? 3. Is the Front Squat supposed to be done with a barbell weight(Iron Man)? If you could clarify these three things, that would be great. Also, should I do the Avengers Workout or the Real Thor Workout first, or does it not matter? Thank you once again for all your great work.

Stay strong, Lawrence

http://www.chadhowsefitness.com/ Chad Howse

Hey man glad you liked it!

Answers: 1. Either. 2. Let the reps dictate the weight you use. You should have a couple in the tank for lower body exercises. Although you can fail with split squats and not hurt yourself. 3. Correct.

Doesn't matter which you do first – have you downloaded the real thor workout?

carl

Any way this can be adapted to be a body weight routine ( my gym membership was too expensive and I am improvising with body weight training while I find a new gym).

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